Fantasy Fallout: Madison Bumgarner Shut Down

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the more successful teams in MLB as they have won two World Series in a matter of five years. The anchor and practically singular reason why they have been able to do this was because of the left arm of Madison Bumgarner.

It is hard to find true workhorses in today’s age of baseball but Bumgarner certainly breaks that notion. After throwing nearly 300 innings in 2014, he pitched a career regular season high 218 innings in 2015, a true ace both for his team and fantasy owners.

The Giants playoffs hopes came up short this season, so they decided to shut MadBum down before his last start Sunday for precautionary reasons. He had thrown over 112 pitches in his last three starts, so with nothing to play for, it makes sense from an organizational standpoint.

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But, from a fantasy owner’s perspective, Madison Bumgarner missing his last start on Sunday could be a back breaking development for owners relying on him for one more dominant start to close championship week.

Between double-headers and possible weather delays, finding a replacement could be difficult. However, I did find two potential starters over the weekend that could serve as decent replacements.

Replacing Bumgarner’s upside is impossible at this point, so the options available are not too enticing but could offer decent value. Here are two guys that I would be willing to gamble on.

Nick Tropeano: Tropeano came over to the Angels in an offseason trade and even though he has only started in seven games, he has been pretty effective. He sports a 3.82 ERA, with 3 wins, and a 9.1 SO/9. I have also been encouraged by his 2.61 FIP as well.

For fantasy owners his last start should probably warrant the most attention as he only gave up one earned run versus the A’s over 6+ innings and even struck out 11 in the process. The A’s do not support the best lineup, but after watching his last start it is clear he is in a groove and his stuff is sharp.

His next start comes against the Rangers in Arlington, a tough matchup no doubt, but from watching the way he has been pitching lately I think he offers enough upside to gamble on when you desperately need a replacement.

Roenis Elias: Elias often gets overlooked with all the enticing arms in Seattle, but he certainly has the talent to really emerge when he finally gets a full-time gig in the rotation. Over his last four starts he hasn’t given up more than two earned runs and has struck out at least five every outing.

He struggles to get Wins, as the Seattle offense and his inability to get deep into games, often stunts his potential output. But his stuff is legit and he has been able to maintain solid K numbers throughout his short career.

His last outing he went six innings against the Astros while giving up two earned runs while striking out five. A decent start and a positive outlook going into his last start of the season. Elias gets the A’s in Seattle for his next start, an offense that we all know lacks fire power.  Tropeano was able to post great numbers against them and I expect Elias to offer the same type of value off the waiver wire.